The problem of preventing the owner of a machine from using unauthorised consumable materials, that is consumable materials supplied by entities other than the supplier of the original machine or which are authorised by the supplier of the original machine, is a well known problem in many diverse fields. There may be several legitimate reasons for wanting to prevent the use of such unauthorised consumable items. Often the use of unauthorised consumables increases the risk of damage to the machine or poorer quality results achieved by the machine since such “after market” consumables are often of a lower quality than the authorised alternatives. The ongoing revenue from sales of consumables can also be an important factor in recouping the original development costs of the machine and/or allowing further development to be funded.
Several proposals have been made for the authentication of consumable products so as to enable the machine for example to warn the user of the risk being taken or even to prevent operation of the machine at all. However, the Applicant has recognised a particular problem in certain types of consumables where a genuine or authorised consumable receptacle can be refilled or reloaded with the consumable material and thus reused. This potentially gives rise to an even greater risk of damage or reduction in quality since such refilling or reloading would not necessarily be carried out with proper equipment.